Device to count strikes

ABSTRACT

A device to count strikes, to be attached to one object that strikes another, such as a boxing glove, or to an object that is being stricken, such as a punching bag. The device comprises a structure for mounting the device to a striking object or an object being stricken. The device further comprises an inertia sensitive switch, a circuit connected to the inertia sensitive switch, a reset switch connected to the circuit, and a display which is controlled by the circuit. The inertia sensitive switch closes in response to a predetermined amount of inertial force created by movement indicating a strike. The circuit generates a signal to the display indicative of this count whereby the number of strikes is known.

CROSS-REFRENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. US60/613,939 filed 2004 Sep. 28.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to training equipment for athletes. Specifically,this invention relates to equipment used by boxers, practitioners of themartial arts, and other athletes involved with sports that involvestriking.

2. Description of Prior Art

Training devices designed to be used by an athlete while striking suchas with their hands or feet are well known in the prior art. A fewprevious art devices measure characteristics of a strike but thesedevices do not count the strikes thrown and cannot be attached to eitherthe striking object or the object receiving the strike.

One device that provides information about a strike is described in U.S.Pat. No. 4,763,284, issued Aug. 9, 1988 to Carlin, entitled REACTIONTIME AND FORCE FEEDBACK SYSTEM. The system described in this patentprovides information about the magnitude of force of the strike but thesystem does not count strikes thrown and can only be attached to thelimb of the user. Another device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,660issued Jul. 17, 1990 to Winn, et al., entitled IMPACT AND SPEEDMEASURING SYSTEM, which measures a peak and total applied force on atarget. However, this device does not count strikes thrown and mustreceive a strike and cannot be attached to the striking object. Also,U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,271 Issued Nov. 28, 1989 to French, entitled SPORTSIMPACT MEASURING APPARATUS measures characteristics of an impact butdoes not count the impacts. This apparatus is also not able to befastened to both striking objects and objects being stricken.

Therefore, no device exists to indicate the number of strikes thrown bya user. Therefore, there is also no device for counting strikes that isdesigned to be fastened to either the striking object, such as a boxingglove, or the object being stricken, such as a punching bag. Thus, thereexists a need for athletic training apparatus that counts strikes andthat can be fastened to the striking object or the object beingstricken.

Objects and Advantages

It is an object of the present invention to provide a strike countingdevice that provides an indication of the number of strikes thrown. Itis further an object of the invention to provide this function in adevice that can be attached to either the striking object such as theuser's boxing glove or the object being stricken such as a punching bag.It is another object of this invention to provide such a strike countingdevice which can be compact and can be produced relativelyinexpensively. Physical fitness is a primary concern for thoseparticipating in boxing, martial arts, and other sports that involvestriking such as punching or kicking. The strike counting device helpsthe user improve their physical fitness by providing information whichcan be used to improve their exercise routine and to motivate themduring exercise. Information provided includes a gauge of the user'sendurance. Specifically, the device shows how many strikes the user canthrow before they become too tired to continue throwing strikes. Thestrike counting device also provides a gauge of the user's strikingability by showing how many strikes they can throw in a predeterminedamount of time such as one minute or one boxing round. The strikecounting device also shows the user how much time is required to throw apredetermined number of strikes, another gauge of striking ability andphysical fitness.

Ambidexterity gives a boxer or martial artist an advantage in a fight.Another benefit of the strike counting device is that it helps the userimprove their ambidexterity. This is done by attaching a strike countingto each arm and/or leg of the user. The user can know which limb theyuse the most often and make changes to which limbs they use accordingly.

Another advantage of the strike counting device is that it can beattached to either the striking object, such as a boxing glove, or theobject being stricken, such as a punching bag. This design allows theuser to use the strike counting device in the manner that best suitsthem and therefore provide the most benefit. For example, one user mayfind it more convenient to leave the device attached to a punching bagwhere they never have to move it. Another user may prefer to wear thedevice attached to their boxing glove, where they can use it with anypunching bag. A user may also prefer to wear the strike counting deviceon more than one limb, such as both boxing gloves and both ankles, atthe same time, so they can simultaneously track how often they strikewith each limb.

SUMMARY

Thus, a main object of the present invention is to count strikes, e.g.,the number of punches or kicks.

DRAWINGS

Drawing Figures

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a strike counting device embodying thisinvention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are respectively a top view and a bottom view of thestrike counting device of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3A and 3B show arrangements of inertia sensitive switches insidethe case of the strike counting device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram for showing the inner structure of the strikecounting device of FIG. 3A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1, 2A and 2B show a strike counting device embodying thisinvention, having a case 1 of a solid form. A display screen 2comprising an LCD is provided on the top surface of the case 1. A strikecount reset button 3 is also provided on the top surface of the case 1.On the bottom surface of the case is a battery cover 4. On battery cover4 is a dip 5 for fastening the strike counting device to another object.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show how inertia sensitive switches may be arrangedinside the case 1. Each of the switches (say, one indicated by numeral11) is composed of a pendulum 11 a, adapted to oscillate around asupport point (fulcrum) and provided with a weight 11 b at its free end,and a lead switch 11 c which is disposed near the swinging path of thependulum 120 a and is switched on when the weight 11 b touches it. Therange of the swinging motion of the pendulum 11 a is limited by abiasing means such as a spring (not shown) and is provided such that thependulum 11 a will return to a specified normal position. If thependulum 11 a swings due to inertia indicating a strike, it is detectedby a voltage or current caused by the opening and closing of the leadswitch 11 c as a result of being contacted by the weight 11 b. It is tobe noted that the type of inertia sensitive switches to be included isnot intended to limit the scope of this invention.

FIG. 3A shows an example wherein one inertia sensitive switch 11 isdisposed in one direction but two or more switches may be arranged asshown in FIG. 3B. In the example shown in FIG. 3B, two inertia sensitiveswitches 111 and 112 are disposed in mutually perpendicular X and Ydirections, a third inertia sensitive switch 113 is disposed in a Zdirection perpendicular to the XY plane in which the first two switches111 and 112 are placed. It is to be noted that the number of inertiasensitive switches to be included is not intended to limit the scope ofthis invention.

FIG. 4 shows that the inertia sensitive switch 11 shown in FIG. 3A isconnected to the circuit 12 and sends signals to the circuit 12. Thereset switch is also connected to the circuit 12 and sends signals tothe circuit 12. The display 2 is also connected to and receives signalsfrom the circuit 12.

In a second embodiment, the clip 5 is fastened to a strap which iswrapped around the object being stricken or the striking object. Forexample, the strap is wrapped around a punching bag and the strikecounting device fastened to the strap using the clip 5.

Operation

The manner of using the strike counting device is to use the clip 5 tofasten the strike counting device to one of the objects participating inthe strike: the striking object such as their boxing glove or the objectbeing stricken such as a punching bag. The strike counting device may beclipped directly to the object or clipped to a strap that is wrappedaround the object. The user presses the reset button to set the strikecount to zero. The user then strikes and the strike counting device thenshows on the display the number of strikes thrown. If the user hasfastened the device to a boxing glove, striking in the air (i.e.shadowboxing) will be sufficient to increment the counter.

CONCLUSION, RAMIFICATIONS, AND SCOPE

Accordingly, the reader will see that the strike counting device isuseful in assisting the user to improve their physical fitness and trainfor boxing, martial arts, and other sports that involve striking. Thestrike counting device helps the user improve their physical fitness andstriking ability by showing them the number of strikes thrown, which asstated above allows the user to gauge their endurance, strike rate, andambidexterity.

While the systems and methods of the present invention have proven to beparticularly useful in the area of boxing and martial arts, thoseskilled in the art can appreciate that the systems and methods can beused in a variety of different applications, such as in the areas ofcardio-kickboxing, fitness workouts, and other such areas. These andother features and advantages of the present invention will be set forthor will become more fully apparent in the description that follows andin the appended claims. The features and advantages may be realized andobtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularlypointed out in the appended claims. Furthermore, the features andadvantages of the invention may be learned by the practice of theinvention or will be obvious from the description, as set forthhereinafter.

The invention has been described in detail, with particular emphasis onthe preferred embodiments, but it should be understood that variationsand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention may occurto those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

1. Strike counting device comprising: (a) an inertia responsive switch adapted to close in response to a predetermined magnitude of inertial force resulting from the user moving the device with movement indicating a strike (b) processing means connected to an output of said inertia responsive switch, for determining based on the output from said inertia responsive switch whether said strike has occurred and having means for counting occurrences of said strike; and (c) display means controlled by the processing means to display results from said means for counting, said results being indicative of the number of times the strike has occurred; wherein said inertia responsive switch closes in response to inertia forces greater than a predetermined magnitude, and wherein the switch outputs a pulse when closing.
 2. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a means to fasten the device to the striking object.
 3. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a means to fasten the device to a boxing glove.
 4. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a means to fasten the device to the user's leg.
 5. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a means to fasten the device to the object being stricken.
 6. Strike counting device of claim 4 wherein said means to fasten the device is adapted for a punching bag.
 7. Strike counting device of claim 4 wherein said means to fasten the device is adapted for a human.
 8. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a means to fasten the device to both an object being stricken and the striking object.
 9. Strike counting device of claim 1 wherein said means to fasten the device is adapted for both a human limb and a punching bag.
 10. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a housing adapted to be attached to an object being stricken and the striking object.
 11. Strike counting device of claim 10 wherein said housing is adapted to be attached to both a human limb and a punching bag.
 12. Strike counting device of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of inertia sensitive switches oriented in different directions whereby the switch closes based on a strike in different directions.
 13. Housing adapted to be attached to a striking object; and a switch disposed within the housing adapted to close in response to a predetermined level of inertial force in response to a user moving the device with movement indicating a strike.
 14. System of claim 14 further comprising a display.
 15. System of claim 15 further comprising a circuit.
 15. System of claim 16 further comprising a strap.
 17. Housing adapted to be attached to an object being stricken; and a switch disposed within the housing adapted to close in response to a predetermined level of inertial force in response to a user moving the device with movement indicating a strike.
 18. System of claim 14 further comprising a display.
 19. System of claim 15 further comprising a circuit.
 20. System of claim 16 further comprising a strap. 